


A Haunting Tale

by zenkitty555



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Crack Treated Seriously, Creature Fic, Fluff, Ghosts, Idiots in Love, Karl Mordo Comes Back, Love Confessions, M/M, Magic, Matchmaking, Matchmaking Ghost, Mystery, New York Sanctum, No Post Credit Scene, Sorcerers, Sorcerers in Love, Stephen May Have Dragged Him Back, The Post Credit Scene is Garbage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-27
Updated: 2017-08-27
Packaged: 2018-12-20 17:39:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11925900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zenkitty555/pseuds/zenkitty555
Summary: Stephen Strange is being haunted by something he doesn’t quite understand. It likes to give him commands and suggestions that he tries to ignore, but when he gives in to the ghost like creature’s demands, he finds things start to get a little better.





	A Haunting Tale

**Author's Note:**

> My Strordo muse left me and came back like this. *shrug* Hopefully it pleases on some level.

He lay awake at night, unable to sleep. It was not an uncommon occurrence, especially in a house so active with various occupants. Some were normal creatures, critters that lay in the walls or between the cracks in floorboards. Others were not of this world. They didn’t scare Stephen at this point into his residency, but they had when he first moved into the Sanctum.

The most frightening of the creatures though often lurked in his bedroom, but occasionally in other rooms as well. It was a entity of sorts that liked to be with Stephen, and who often came to visit in the dead of the night. 

“Stephen, you really do need to read those scrolls I told you about,” it nagged him.

“Will you leave me alone in peace for once?”

“You know I can’t do that until you have fixed the problem.” 

“It’s not a problem, if it doesn’t even exist as far as I know. You have yet to tell me what it is.” 

“Such a simple mind,” it scolded.

Stephen pressed his pillow against his head, praying to the Vishanti that it would leave him be. But such wishes were rarely granted.

“Really, just because you can’t envision it, doesn’t mean that it won’t come to pass.” 

“What can I give you so you will leave me alone for at least one night?” Stephen asked exasperatedly. 

“A kiss of true love,” it teased.

“Fine, pucker up.”

The entity, something that resembled a ghost of sorts, snorted with laughter at its unfunny joke, irritating Stephen to no end. 

“But really, what are you going to do?”

This is what kept him up. He could deal with its inane chatter, its jokes, and its taunts. It was the constant soul searching questions that perturbed him. They were especially bothersome, because he had no idea what it had been referring too, but he knew it was a bad omen.

Turning over, his eyes opened wide, adjusting to the darkness. The ghost of sorts floated in front of him- a figure not quite human, but not quite animal either with its bumps and scales. At least that’s what he thought they would be if it wasn’t some wispy, astral-projection like- see through, Casper of a thing. Frankly it reminded him of a cross between a mermaid or merman and the creature from the black lagoon, but more agendered. Not unpleasant to look at, but slightly startling the first time he saw it.

“Fine. Let’s talk about him instead. You know he’s waiting for you. I don’t know why you won’t go and meet him.”

“He’s not waiting for me. He left us remember. We didn’t leave him.”

“Yes, but think of the stories Stephen. The hero going to rescue the fair maiden from the jaws of the lion, or dragon, or some bad man. Maybe he’s fallen victim to one of those. He’s been so silent for so long.” 

Stephen sighed. He didn’t know how the creature knew of these fairy tales, but he didn’t really care either as they didn’t apply to him. He was no knight, no hero. He was just a sorcerer tasked with protecting the earth. His motives were not noble in nature, wanting only to challenge himself and to do something that was important. Even if others told him that he was a hero on occasion, he didn’t feel like one. 

Stephen lived a simple life for the most part, uncomplicated with the drama that filled the lives of others. 

Mordo was by no means a maiden either. The man could easily best Stephen in many things, even if he tended to overreact at times. The very idea of Mordo needing his help was absurd, and he ignored the ghost’s protest once again.

Sighing, he sat up. 

“Okay, let me tell you this one last time. I am not going to Transylvania to knock on every door to try to woo Mordo back. He’s a grown man, and frankly I don’t need him to help me with this so called problem that may or may not happen in the future that you keep talking about.”

Shaking its head, it looked disappointed in Stephen. Sometimes he wondered if it interacted with the Ancient One, as the look it gave him reminded him of her- scrutinizing his every action and reaction.

Frustrated, he got up to go make himself some tea. It was going to be another long night, filled with his frequent visitor’s cryptic ways. 

After he got his tea, he decided to retire to the study. The spirit kept him under its watchful gaze, looking at him as he tried to go through some of the books Wong had sent over. Every time they did this, it always stared at him as if Stephen was doing something wrong by doing his job. It grated on him and wore him down hour by hour.

“Those aren’t the scrolls.”

“First, you order me to get some scrolls which are not readily available to me here. Second, you won’t tell me what I am looking for. Is it a spell to banish you? If not, I don’t care.”

It sighed a deep, frustrated sigh, “I don’t know why I talk to you. I’ve told you multiple times, you’ll know when you see it.”

Stephen slammed the book shut, standing up before he shouted, “Leave me alone! I don’t want you here!”

He had tried banishment spells before, but as it was neither a corporeal form, nor an astral form, it didn’t work. A few weeks before he sprayed concoctions that Wong had recommended for unwanted pest or guests, and still that did nothing. It was torturous. Stephen didn’t know what to do. 

Thankfully, yelling at it did drive it away for the night- a surprising revelation. Yet when it returned the next night with the same fervor and cryptic messages, Stephen decided it would probably be easier just to do what the thing wanted. At least it seemed that if he did that, it would be less vocal in the future and allow Stephen a decent night's rest. If he were really lucky, it may even go away, much like the stories of unrestful spirits from his childhood.

So he set out to go to Transylvania first, as the scrolls that his pesky guest had requested were currently locked away in storage at Kamar-Taj, and Wong told him he would have to wait a few days for them. 

Stephen knew that he should have said something to Wong about how he was headed to find Mordo, but the fear inside him told him it was best not to. Deciding to go it alone brought some risks, but Stephen was convinced that he would succeed in his task, and threw caution to the wind. It had worked out well for him before, and he felt it would this time, too.

Using a combination of locating spells and asking the townspeople the best he could with help from the internet and broken English, he eventually found Mordo’s place in the hills. The building was old, but well maintained with a large estate attached. It wasn’t hard to get there, even though it was a long walk. Obviously the design was meant to discourage any curious tourist and allow the occupants to see who or what was coming at them. Stephen was sure he would have never been able to portal into the place, as the wards were so strong and thick that it made the hairs on his arms stand up from the crackle of magic. 

Sure enough, when he was able to reach the door, Mordo was outside, waiting for him. He stood there, his arms crossed and with a sour expression on his face. He looked as he did that day in Hong Kong. 

“Strange. What do you want?”

“Ah, I came to see you, to try to talk with you.”

Rolling his eyes, Mordo put his hand up to tell Stephen to stop in his tracks. 

“I don’t want to listen to you. What gives you the right to come here and demand to meet with me?” He responded. 

His voice tinged with the venomous tone it had at their last meeting. It was clear he was not happy to see Stephen. His ghost had been very wrong; this was not a man who needed saving at all.

“Well, it’s a long story, but I’ve been recently had an entity haunting me, telling me I need you to help me.”

Narrowing his eyes, Mordo looked at him as if he were crazy. To be honest, Stephen would have had the same reaction if their positions had been switched.

“And what would you need help with?”

“I don’t know. It won’t tell me. All I know is that there is some big problem on the horizon, and it seems to think that I need you to help me solve it. To be honest, I’m starting to think I might need your expertise as well.”

“But you don’t even know what the problem is?”

Stephen sighed, nodding his head.

They stood facing one another. The air seemed to be as thick with tension as it was with magic. He didn’t think that Mordo would accept his proposal, but the man hesitated.

“And who or what is this entity?” Karl asked suspiciously.

“I don’t know that either. It refuses to explain, and I’ve tried every kind of banishment spell, but it will not leave. It does seem friendly though.”

That seemed to interest the other sorcerer more than anything else he had said previously. It was like he could see the wheels turning in Mordo’s head. An entity that would not go away was a powerful entity, and something that sorcerers did not normally deal with.

“Have you asked others for help?”

Stephen felt his face pink up in embarrassment. 

“Yea, but it seems that only I can see it. They just think it’s residual trauma or something,” Stephen replied.

“Trauma?”

“It’s not trauma! I know the difference. It is an entity,” Stephen ground out defensively.

It was the truth; he knew the difference between ptsd and a floating apparition. After he had watched his sister die long ago, he had suffered through enough to know the difference. Aside from his new companion’s irritating ways, he had experienced no other symptoms to indicate the problem was with him, or that it was deeper than it was.

“I believe you, but why does it specifically want me to help you?” 

“If I had to make guess, it might be because you’re more knowledgeable and steadfast. At least that’s what I’ve been told,” he fibbed.

The Ancient One had told him that Karl was inflexible, rigid, but Stephen highly doubted this would be a good time to bring up their fallen Sorcerer Supreme or her assessment of him, so he decided steadfast was a much better word.

“Fine Strange, I will help you. But I have some conditions.”

Stephen waited as he listed them off, most of them concerning his wishes not to tie himself to Kamar-Taj, still wary of the powers that be. Although there was no Sorcerer Supreme, it was understandable why he wanted to remain independent. Not wanting to press the man further, he figured it was good enough for now. Later they could talk again, if things changed.

After they had planned for Mordo to come in a few days, Stephen returned to his post with little fanfare. His ghost seemed to be taking a rest for a while, and Stephen was grateful. Understandably, he was too tired to do much, and eventually fell asleep at his desk. It was a nasty habit that had formed since his entity had shown up. Sleep had been a precious commodity.

After Mordo came to the Sanctum, there was a flurry of activity, but suspiciously his ghost still didn’t reappear. Mordo- who he now thought of as Karl- and him combed through the scrolls that the creature had recommended him. They were trying to find what would be helpful with the unknown problem, and researching helped provide a lull in tensions between the two sorcerers. Keeping busy seemed to settle both of their minds, but after a few days of looking, they both became frustrated. Karl, like Stephen, had no idea what they were looking for, and Stephen’s vague rejections of his findings was starting to annoy the man. 

Yet Stephen still believed in what the phantom had said- he would know it when he found it. Still it would not hurt to ask the entity again and sure enough, the night after Karl and him got into their squabble, it reappeared.

“You have yet to tell me what the problem is,” Stephen said annoyed.

“Oh, the problem? That’s solved, don’t you know?” Stephen frowned before it continued. “Sometimes you are so thick. The problem was Karl. He is angry, lost, directionless, and you of all people should know how dangerous that can be. You have felt it yourself and seen others fall into despair. Do you think that he would not become a problem?”

Stephen was silent as he had to admit it was right, but why couldn’t it just have said that to begin with? Had it told him directly that he need to go find Karl and bring him back, because he would become a problem, it would have saved Stephen a lot of time and strife. Now he didn’t know what he would tell Karl, who believed there was some epic problem on the horizon. 

Stephen sighed in frustration.

“So the problem was Karl? Great. Now what can I say to keep him here? He’s just going to leave when he finds out that an entity- one that he can’t even see- told me that he’s the problem.” He paused, becoming more frustrated by the moment, “Your plan has been insane. He’s not going to listen to me any more.”

“I’m sure you can think of something. You know something always happens if you wait long enough. Besides, he  _ likes _ you, that’s why you can influence him.”

The way it said ‘likes’ was not meant to mean a platonic ‘likes’.

“No. He’s friendly sometimes, but I’m sure that he’s not interested me in that way.”

It rolled its eyes at Stephen, as if it knew better. Once again, Stephen wished it would go haunt someone else. He was getting pretty sick of its smarmy attitude and quips.

“Fine, don’t believe me. But I’m telling you Stephen, you two are good together. Look at what you have been doing here. You’ve had a common goal and you’re working together. The Ancient One would be pleased.”

“You knew the Ancient One?”

It rolled its eyes once again, as if it was a given. Maybe it was, but how was Stephen supposed to know? There were so many things he didn’t know, and the more effort he put into trying to learn, the more confusing things got.

“It doesn’t matter anymore right? She’s gone. You're here and he’s here. Don’t blow your chances to right the wrongs.”

Stephen sighed and looked back down at the scroll in front of him. It was another one filled with useless spells for house cleaning of all things. When he looked back up, the entity was gone after saying what needed to be said.

At least this time its visit was short and to the point. It gave him the answer he wanted, even if he hadn’t wanted to hear it. Still, he had not expected that the answer he got was something that would keep him up for most of the night. 

The next morning Karl found him slumped over his desk, drool staining the parchment, and his back practically creaking; Stephen was a bit embarrassed. Looking up, his eyes met Karl’s and surprisingly there was a look of sympathy in them. Gone was the irritation from the night before. 

Stephen felt his face heat up remembering what the creature had told him in the night. Thankfully, Karl probably just assumed the embarrassment was from sleeping at his desk. Little could he have guessed it was because Stephen started to realize that his creature may have been trying to tell him something more- a truth that he had tried to ignore for quite some time, long before that night in Hong Kong.

He felt torn by this revelation. 

“Stephen, are you even listening?”

Shaking his head, he turned his attention back to Karl. 

“Sorry. I haven’t been sleeping well, and it came back last night.”

“The demon?”

“I don’t think it’s a demon. I don’t know what it is to be honest. Anyways, it told me to keep looking.”

Karl went quiet, his eyes narrowed in concentration, taking in the information Stephen had just told him. Some part of Stephen wanted to cringe in response. He didn’t like lying to the other sorcerer, but did his constant pain-in-the-ass visitor really expect him to flat out tell Karl ‘you were the problem’? The reaction it would provoke wasn’t something he was going to contemplate. 

“Have you ever thought that this demon is just a mischief maker?” Karl asked calmly.

There was no judgement in his tone or annoyance in his countenance. 

“Yes. That’s why I ignored it for so long, but some of the things it kept nagging me about made sense. I mean, that’s why I came and got you. It seemed to know that we need one another.”

“I don’t need you.”

Stephen looked downward, slightly pained. Deep down he knew that it was true. They didn’t actually need each other, they survived nearly 40 years without knowing one another, and in the last few months, Stephen managed to irk by without the help of others. 

It had been a very interesting learning experience, as before he always had assumed that he deserved most of the credit for his accomplishments. The past few months taught him how utterly stupid he had been to believe that he was self-sufficient before he had come to Kamar-Taj.

“Okay, maybe not need, but you keep me balanced. Surely you have to acknowledge that.”

A small quirk in Karl’s mouth told him the man was pleased with that assessment. Stephen felt relieved, and they spent a moment looking in each other's eyes. 

“Listen. Let’s try to figure out what it is, and then maybe we can start to understand how to communicate with it effectively, or what kind of purpose it serves. I know it may seem friendly and trustworthy, but it also may have darker motives.”

Stephen nodded. It was a good idea, and he wouldn’t have to make up a problem to keep Karl around. 

As he rolled up the scroll he was looking at, Karl searched through the numerous ones Wong had delivered from Kamar-Taj. Most of them were actually scrolls on creatures and other beings. He started to pick through them, pulling a few and tossing the other more useless ones to the side. Stephen had read most of them before, ages ago. All of the information floated around in his head, but he was pretty sure that he had not read about the unique creature that would visit him in the middle of the night. 

And so they spent days and days going through the scrolls, narrowing down what it could be, and what it couldn’t be. Karl was having more luck than Stephen, and seem to know the right questions to ask in order to categorize it. 

When they were tired, they would often rest, and Stephen frequently caught Karl looking at him more and more. It was like it was before, with smiles and softness. Occasionally, he would become irritated with Stephen and his habits, but seeing as they were constantly living together, bumping up against one another over the last two weeks, it was expected. 

Sometimes his ghost would show up, to nag him about something. Increasingly, it was nagging him not about his work, the scrolls, or the other creatures that lurked in the house, but about acting upon his feelings. It had become so invested in Stephen’s lack of romantic life it was disturbing. If Stephen teased it by asking if it were bored, it only would only double down on its insistence that he was in love. 

It actually used the word ‘love’ at him. 

At this point Stephen couldn’t deny his attraction to Karl, but such a strong word as ‘love’ haunted him as much as the spirit did. After that visit, Stephen’s heart started to beat a little faster every time Karl walked into the room, partially out of fear and partially out of desire. 

He was weak. He knew this from his life before. Only all those times had been about sex or some fun; this was something more. It was disturbing how much the other man affected him on a visceral level. 

Then it happened as Karl handed Stephen the scroll he had been looking over. The sparks they had so frequently exchanged ignited into a full fire, and he grabbed at Karl’s wrist, pulling him closer and pressing his mouth against the slightly shorter man’s soft lips. It was stupid, silly, foolish, and even dangerous, but apparently not unwelcomed as Karl melted into him, his mouth opening and returning the kiss. Stephen groaned, and they continued for longer than what was probably prudent. 

When they pulled away, looking at one another with a bewildered expression, something seem to shake them out of their trance. Karl excused himself as Stephen sat there closing his eyes and wondering what would happen next.

He cursed his ghost until Karl came back later in the evening. They then sat there for a while in awkward silence. Stephen went to speak, but before his could, Karl had practically swooped over, bestowing upon him another kiss. This time he didn’t leave afterward, but looked at Stephen with a pensive expression plastered on his face.

“So we are doing this?” Stephen asked, his voice nearly cracking with anxiety.

“I guess we are, at least until we tire of one another.”

It wasn’t going to happen. Stephen was sure of that. He couldn’t claim to be a seer by any means, but in his gut he just knew. 

They continued to work together, unfortunately having no success at finding out what the ghost was. It returned a few times, mostly to chat and get progress updates on Stephen and Karl’s relationship. It was quite a gossip and offered unsolicited advice, most of it seemingly counter-intuitive in Stephen’s opinion. 

One night Stephen stayed up much later than he should have and came upon a scroll that he had seen several times before. He actually had used it a little more than a month and a half ago, trying rid the Sanctum of some wards that had been put in place by one of the former masters of the place. Looking at it, it peaked his interest, and he skimmed over the spells once again. 

He found the spell he had used at that time. When he had cast the spell, he followed the instructions exactly, or so he had thought, but looking over it again, it appeared that he did not follow the movements exactly. Closing his eyes, he came to realize something he had not considered before. 

The ghost had been right. He did know it when he saw it and looking at the warnings- which like all the others also came after the spell- it listed some of the things that could go wrong. As he looked over the spell’s said warnings, seeing the answer, he felt magic crackle around him. 

“It’s true, I am a physical manifestation of part of your conscious. You messed up that spell a while ago.”

“What? You’re telling me my consciousness looks like you?” 

“You think I’d look as ugly as you?” It said with a hint of disgust and irritation.

“What?” 

It ignored his outburst. Clearly, it had much different beauty standards than the rest of his mind. 

Stephen still confused as to why it took that form, stared for a good while as it stared back at him, obviously irritated at Stephen’s earlier assessment of his form. 

Stephen would have to reverse the spell; an easy undo if there ever was one now that he knew what it was.

Eventually he broke the silence that lay between him and the manifestation of his partial conscious, “I think I’m going to miss you, as odd as that sounds.”

“Well, now you know where to find the spell, or at least the spell it’s based off of. And it’s not like I ever really go away right? You just won’t be able to see me. I’ll still be with you,” it remarked sympathetically.

Thinking upon it, it was correct. He did now know the spell, and he really had only been talking to himself the whole while it had been haunting him. At the same time, it was a bit embarrassing; he wasn’t sure if he wanted to share with Karl the whole story now. 

It would be a secret with himself, and when c ontemplating on it, he decided could live with that. 

After he cast the reversal spell, he went back to his rooms feeling a little down for some reason. Maybe Christine had been right all those years ago, it did seem like he was a rampant narcissist after an episode like this. He was going to miss it.

With the silence though, he was looking forward to getting a good night's rest. 

Opening the door to his room, he couldn’t help but grin at the thought of curling up against Karl, who was already sound asleep. Looking upon the man, he was glad that he did mess up on that spell. Thinking about it put him in a better mood than what he was in moments before. 

Settling in for the night, it didn’t take long for sleep to overtake him.


End file.
